


b'shert

by Anonymous



Series: mythical-soul's fics [3]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-20 16:32:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3657351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They said that the soulmate marks are perfect, that they never get it wrong.</p>
<p>Yet it seemed like Rhett was the universe’s only exception.</p>
            </blockquote>





	b'shert

**Author's Note:**

> So, soulmate AUs are always pretty happy and yey, they're each other's soulmate, how exciting- I decided that I wanted to crush my heart into little pieces so here I am. Comments and critics are welcome! ♥

**b'shert,** באשַערט.

(n.) lit. "Destiny"; referring to the seeking of a person who will complement you and whom you will complement perfectly.

\----

They said that the soulmate marks are perfect, that they never get it wrong.

Yet it seemed like Rhett was the universe’s only exception.

Rhett was wide awake, looking at the ceiling while lying on the bed.

The next day of his sixteen birthday, Rhett ran to the bathroom and shed away all of his clothes. That’s when he found the small _Charles Lincoln_ on his chest, over his heart. Of all the people on the world, Link was his soulmate and it was handwritten on his skin with blue ink (just like his eyes), as if the universe had taken him to draw into Rhett’s skin.

And of course it had to be in a very cheesy place, like, _seriously Link_?

He couldn’t help but smile because, god, Link was his best friend, his partner in crime, his favorite person in the whole universe- part of the duo he didn’t even think they would have later in life. But, when Link asked him, he lied that it didn’t appear yet. It wasn’t strange and some marks took longer- month or even years to appear, some of them never appeared at all- but Link didn’t worry about him.

He was so happy that Link was his soulmate but he wanted to wait until the other boy presented.

Rhett just wanted to be hundred percent sure that Link was his and he was Link’s.

That June 2th, he went to school with a smile on his face and heart on his throat.

When he saw Link, he thought he was about to cry of happiness and he really didn’t mind that he was on a classroom full of people. “Rhett, Rhett!” Link called, appearing in the classroom door and making his way to the boy’s desk. “Look what I got!” And that’s when he saw the other boy’s mark, placed on his lovely pale skin of his inner arm.

It was green and handwritten.

Yet, that wasn’t his letter, neither his name. The name _Hayden_ appeared on his best friend’s right forearm and both of them knew that there wasn’t any girl with that name in that small town. Link said something about possibly meeting her at college, he was so excited.

“I can’t believe it,” Rhett said and Link smiled at him. “I’m happy for you.”

(Well, what a lie.)

“Has your mark appeared?” Link asked, looking curiously at his best friend.

“No, man,” he answered, shaking his head and looking at the door in every chance he got, begging the universe for the teacher to come in and to start the class right away- he already wanted the day to end.

“What a bummer,” and with that, their teacher came in and Link had to sit back in the class, seeing that most of the desk upfront were occupied by other classmates.

Rhett was wide awake, looking at the ceiling while lying on the bed.

(He cried his heart out that night.)

Months after, Rhett lied that the name _Isabel Loran_ appeared on his inner thigh and when his best friend begged to see it, he replied that he was actually kind of embarrassed for her writing. Link just laughed.

After that, Rhett promised himself that he was never going to let Link see his name and, incredibly enough, he accomplished that through college. Even today, Link still had his _Hayden_ on his arm and Rhett had his fake _Isabel_ hiding somewhere in his inner thigh while _Charles Lincoln_ rested over his heart.

Well, not for long.

\----

They said that when a soulmate dies, the other part can feel their pain.

Link came to pick him up every morning, both of them car pulling together. The drive to the office was short but L.A traffic made it ten times longer. Both of them would start talking about things, sometimes about business and sometimes about their mutual interests.

That morning, Rhett knew something was wrong with Link.

The other man was quiet and he gave short answers to Rhett’s questions.

“Are you okay?” Rhett asked, concerned about his best friend. His hand moved to Link’s face and pressed on the man’s forehead then wandered to his cheek. “You aren’t hot.”

“I’m fine.” That was Link’s answer but Rhett let out a _what a lie_ under his breath. “Fine, fine. I just- I have this strange feeling, you know? As if the universe was telling me that something was going to happen.” Rhett listened and nodded. “It’s going to go away, don’t worry.”

“If you say so,” Rhett shifted on his seat, his elbow on the car’s window sill, his head resting on his hand. “But if you aren’t feeling well, I’m driving you home and taking the car, okay?” Link smiled and thanked Rhett, saying something about that he shouldn’t be concerned.

The drive to the office was pretty normal after that.

What Rhett didn’t know, is that there wasn’t going to be a drive back.

Rhett was sitting at his desk, typing away on his laptop when he heard some commotion coming from downstairs. It wasn’t strange that the office would be very loud sometimes but this wasn’t the kind of loud that he would normally hear; it seemed like it clicked something on Rhett’s mind.

That’s when he heard Alex calling his name, panic flooding into his words.

He saw the man, how he was holding a phone at his ear and making quick movements as if he was telling Rhett to move his ass downstairs because something had happen. Rhett ran quickly downstairs and he followed Alex to one of the rooms.

And when the other man opened the door, that’s when he saw it, when he heard everything.

Link was pressed against one of the white walls and he was screaming and trashing around, Chase and Eddie were holding him up; when Rhett came closer and kneeled in front of his best friend, he could notice that Link’s eyes were shut tight and there were tears rolling over his cheeks.

“Here,” he heard a voice behind him and when he noticed, Jen was taking whatever Stevie was holding up to her- a first aid kit. What had happened to Link that they needed a first aid kit? 

“Hold him,” Jen said and Rhett saw Eddie’s and Chase’s hands pressing harder on Link’s arms, shoving him steady into the wall but the other man couldn’t keep still. Jen soaked a cotton and she held the arm in which Link had his soulmate ma-

Oh god, was his mark bleeding?

What, those were bruises appearing on his skin?

As the wet cotton pressed on the mark, cleaning it up, Link screamed louder and he quickly and heavily fell forwards, as if the wall pushed him away. Before he knew it, Rhett had a limp Link on his arms. He looked around at the crew and not even a few minutes later, the paramedics entered the room, being guided by an agitated Alex. Jen finished cleaning the mark and stepped away.

Rhett didn’t remember Link being moved away from his arms and neither he remembers driving to the hospital ( _Did someone else drive? Did he went in the back of the ambulance with Link? Did he take his phone? Was he crying?)._ He only remembered being hunched over on a plastic chair in the hospital’s waiting room, the crew sitting around him, talking in hushed tones.

He noticed that all of them had hands on their own soulmate marks: Jen’s hand was on her shoulder, Eddie’s on the back of his elbow and Stevie’s on her wrist; Alex had his hand covering his neck, where his blue soulmate mark seemed to be brighter than ever.

Placing a hand over his heart where his own soulmate mark was, Rhett closed his eyes and asked himself what the actual fuck was what he saw and he just begged the universe that nothing wrong had happened.

Later they found out that Link’s soulmate died.

\----

Link had bruises of colors that Rhett thought it would be impossible to put on someone’s skin.

Red and green and orange and purple and yellow and pink and blue bruises that almost connected each other because they were so wide. Rhett had found himself tracing them, as if that was going to make them disappear anytime soon.

He had barely moved away from Link’s bed side. Jen drove him home at eleven pm; took a shower and ate something before going back at three am. Visiting hours were eight to ten but being Link’s emergency contact had its perks.

Rhett had a very light sleep so he woke up when Link started squeezing his arm and calling his name even when his voice was barely audible. His best friend’s oxygen mask was fogging with his breathing but he saw Link’s faint smile under it when he woke up.

After the nurse came and went, Rhett was holding Link’s hand even tighter.

“Hey,” He smiled. “It’s good to see you up.”

“Yeah,” Link replied quietly, almost not daring to talk: everything hurt and he was exhausted. He looked around to the machines before his eyes fell on Rhett’s. “What happened?”

Rhett was silent for a moment but didn’t dare to look away from Link’s eyes.

His hand wandered to where Link’s soulmate mark was. Now, it had a gauze hiding it- well, hiding the empty part of Link’s skin; the doctors said that his soulmate mark would disappear. Link’s eyes flew away to his mark and when he noticed the gauze, he started to panic. “What happened, Rhett?”

“Your soulmate died. The doctors think it was a car accident of some sort, for the bruises and such.” Link was still, hearing Rhett’s voice. “I’m sorry” and when Link didn’t say anything again, Rhett was about to move away. “Do you want me to go and leave you alone? I understand if you-”

“Please don’t,” the other man almost begged. “Stay, please. I don’t want to be alone.” Rhett nodded and didn’t move, just held Link’s hand once again.

Soon enough, Link fell asleep but Rhett couldn’t.

\----

When Link was let out of the hospital, Rhett convinced him that he should stay with him.

He was concerned about his best friend: losing a soulmate was probably the worst thing that could happen to someone and, just thinking about this made Rhett’s chest tighten, it probably hurt more because Link never got the change to meet Hayden.

He did his best to make Link return to work slowly, return to normality; they would come in late than usual and go early in the afternoon but they still continued to do work at home. Link seemed to be better every day and, at some point, it felt like college all over again.

(Rhett had the temptation of buying a bunk bed just because.)

Link’s mark disappeared after two weeks and now all he had was a line, as if it was a scar. Rhett noticed that sometimes Link would brush it with his fingers and look at it longingly but as soon as he came back to reality, he seemed okay.

It was normal to be like that after losing someone important but Rhett couldn’t help but worry.

Yet, his best friend started to smile, to laugh more after a month and Rhett couldn’t be happier. Their Good Mythical Morning recordings became lighter, as if someone had taken a weight from their shoulders and everyone noticed (their crew, their friends, their audience); it seemed as if the world was alright once again.

Yet, Rhett wasn’t sure when they started fooling around.

It started with cuddles at their couch (yeah, their couch because Link didn’t move out Rhett’s apartment after two months and Rhett didn’t have the heart to say anything, I mean, he enjoyed Link’s company so much.) They would watch something on Netflix and such and Link would just move closer, resting his head on Rhett’s shoulder.

It was lovely. Rhett would put his arm around Link’s shoulder to move him even closer and more than once, they would fall asleep just like that. The blond thought it was only because Link was seeking for comfort and he let it slide.

Cuddles became holding hands and Rhett didn’t stutter when he asked Link the first time what he was doing. Both of them were walking in IKEA, finding a new set of chairs for _their_ kitchen. His soulmate just smiled and shrugged, without letting go his best friend’s hand. At some point, it became normal.

Holding hands transformed into subtle touches that they thought no one saw.

Rhett would ruffle Link’s hair just to annoy him, Link would play footsie with Rhett under the Good Mythical Morning desk just to annoy him, Rhett would jump in Link’s bed in the morning to wake him up just to annoy him and Link would crawl on Rhett’s bed to press his cold toes on the man’s leg just to _annoy him_.

It was like a lie to themselves; that everything they did was to annoy each other.

Maybe that’s how they got to this point.

Both of them were sitting on the couch that night, watching a movie when it started to buffer. Rhett laughed when he heard Link’s exasperated sigh. “Incredible. It had to happen in the best part,” Link commented, turning his head to look at Rhett, who was looking back at him.

“What I can say, it happens.”

They were in silence for a while, looking at each other.

He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him but he wanted (needed) to kiss Link, to kiss him whole, his pretty face and his pale skin. He wanted to touch him, to make him his. He didn’t care if in that single moment everything could go to hell: their friendship, their career, everything. He didn’t care.

In that moment, all he wanted to do is have Link.

That’s what he did.

He brushed his nose against his best friend’s, their eyes fixed on each other’s and Rhett almost shivered when he felt the hot air that Link exhaled through his mouth hitting his cold skin. He pressed his lips tenderly against Link’s and he felt in heaven.

( _Those lips were so soft_ , Rhett thought, _that fucking chapstick was miraculous._ )

Link’s hand moved and now was caressing Rhett’s collarbone, his sneaky fingers caressing under the collar of the shirt. Rhett couldn’t help but smile and Link did the same, giggling softly.

“I like this,” Link said, breaking the kiss but not daring to open his eyes.

“I like this too,” Rhett hummed, starting to kiss Link’s cheek and ear and neck and collarbone. Link laughed, saying something about being ticklish. Then, Link let out this gorgeous and almost inaudible moan and Rhett couldn’t help but move back and look at his soulmate.

Link’s cheeks were bright red and one of his hands was covering his mouth, embarrassed.

“I like you,” Rhett told him. “I want you.”

“Take me,” Link answered without hesitation.

Those were enough words to make Rhett get up and carry Link with him to the bedroom, not really caring about his back. His best friend started laughing and yelling at him to get him down but Rhett was enjoying it too much. He dropped him in the bed, both of them giggling like idiots.

Rhett took Link’s shirt off and kissed his pale skin carefully, biting it sometimes, licking it; he was worshiping the body under him. Link gasps and pleads were what made Rhett’s heart melt.

It was dark and they could barely see each other. That was probably the reason that Rhett didn’t care about his shirt being unbuttoned and being thrown away by Link, who had started to caress his arms, his fingers finding themselves buried on the other man’s hairs, without gel and damp from the shower he took not a few hours ago.

Rhett took Link’s shorts painfully slow and his briefs came down with them. Rhett sighed and bit his lip, looking at Link under him. He started kissing the man’s legs, hearing him gasp and moan with each kiss, mumbling something about Rhett’s beard brushing on his skin but he didn’t care.

Link was gorgeous: those sounds, that cock, that softness, those bright, blue eyes, his everything.

Soon enough, the movie in the other room started to play once again and the sounds of it quickly blended in with Link’s moans and Rhett’s pants, with Link’s loud pleads and Rhett’s groans, with both of them mumbling each other’s names and giggling because they were enjoying themselves.

(Rhett would have been lying if he said that, that night, he didn’t the best orgasm in his life.)

Soon enough, silence fell in the bedroom and in the living room and night became day.

When Link woke up, Rhett wasn’t in the bed and fear crawled into his skin.

He got up, put his glasses, gathered some of his clothes from the floor and went to the kitchen. He let out a sigh of relief when noticed that Rhett was in the kitchen: he was cooking breakfast and humming to himself Stuck On You by Lionel Richie and Link couldn’t help but laugh.

Rhett was such a dork and Link couldn’t be happier.

“Good morning,” he appeared in the doorway, smiling at Rhett.

Rhett glanced at him but didn’t stop signing. “I’m stuck on you,” he sang to Link, before looking back at the pancakes he was preparing. “I've got this feeling down, deep in my soul that I just can’t lose” and Link laughed, hiding his face on his own hands, muttering how silly Rhett was. “I’m on my way!”

Link turned around and left to the bed once again, hearing Rhett’s deep laugh behind him.

After that, both of them guessed they became something.

They cuddled, they held hands, they _annoyed_ each other but now, they kissed and they made each other moan and they made love. They started understanding each other better than ever, they expressed their feelings more openly and everything felt right.

A few months later, Link officially moved into Rhett’s apartment, _their_ home.

Link never questioned why he couldn’t see Rhett without his shirt off or why when he did take off his shirt, the lights were off and it was pitch black, or why he had never saw the _Isabel_ on his best friend’s thigh but he didn’t actually care.

(He didn’t care that maybe, someday, Rhett would find that _Isabel Loran_ and he would leave him, searching for a new apartment, probably seeing him get married to her and be happy, have kids just like he always want to. Link’s heart hurt just thinking about seeing someone else kissing Rhett, holding his hand, someone else replacing him.)

He didn’t care. He was happy.

Link just hoped that Rhett was happy too.

\----

Rhett had been sitting on the bed with the laptop on his lap and back against the headboard when he heard the front door opening and closing, followed by a whistle.

Link had been out with part of the crew, buying some stuff for their next shoot but Rhett told them to go by themselves, joking that he was an old man and that he was quite tired. Link laughed and told him that he would be getting home soon after that.

It was around eleven pm when Link appeared in the doorway, smiling wide.

“Hi,” Rhett greeted him, ignoring his laptop and looking at Link.

“I got a surprise for you,” Link said, still smiling widely. Now he was standing in front of the bed, facing Rhett. The older man frowned and sat closer to his boyfriend, moving away his laptop.

“Okay? Should I be scared?” He asked and Link shook his head, before starting to unbutton his shirt, making Rhett laugh. “Oh, is this kind of surprise? Well, that’s nice.”

The younger man pushed his boyfriend jokingly, making the other laugh even louder. “Shut up,” he said and continued to unbutton his shirt before taking it off and holding it on his hands, nervously. “Okay, ready?”

“I’m ready, babe.” Rhett asked, curious slipping through his words. “What’s the surprise?”

When Link turned around, Rhett noticed a small patch of plastic and tape on his boyfriend’s upper back, just right behind where the heart was.

That’s when he noticed it.

Under the plastic, there was a mark.

It was green and handwritten.

_Rhett James_ marked on his back and Link was showing it proudly.

“Alex and Stevie accompanied me to get it this afternoon. I was going to surprise you with it on our anniversary but I think the plastic cover gives it away, right? Do you like-” Link turned around and found Rhett’s eyes red and his cheeks wet and his chest trembling.

Link’s smile fell and, crawling over the bed, he almost threw himself into Rhett’s lap, kneeling between his boyfriend’s long legs. He hesitated about taking one of his hands but he did and he started playing nervously with Rhett’s fingers.

“Don’t you like it?” He asked, as if he was afraid of his boyfriend’s answer. “I-I thought it would be a lovely gesture, right? I mean, you have yours, you have Isabel but we’re happy, right?” Rhett was silently crying and Link’s fear started bubbling inside his chest. “I’m sorry, I thought-” but before he could say anything else, Rhett quickly moved and shed his own shirt off.

That’s when he saw it.

It was blue and handwritten and that was his letter and oh god, that was his name and-

Link’s hands traveled to his boyfriend’s mark and noticed that _that_ wasn’t a tattoo, it felt as a real mark and oh my, it was a real mark. Link gasped and looked at Rhett’s eyes, not taking his hands away.

“I’m your soulmate,” he whimpered, blinking his tears away. “How long-?”

“Always.” Rhett quickly answered, his voice sounding deeper. “I lied about Isabel because you had Hayden and, I know you, I know you, Link,” he laughed, his hands on his soulmate’s cheeks. “You would have felt guilty about you not having me and I didn’t want that. I wanted you to be happy with Hayden, you know?”

Link nodded then shook his head, not taking his eyes away from Rhett’s.

“Then everything happened and, well, look at us. You feel in love with me without knowing you were my soulmate and now, you go and get tattooed my name in your back.” Rhett smiled and brought Link’s face closer, leaving wet and loud kisses all over his face, making his boyfriend giggle.

“I thought you were upset.”

“God, no,” Rhett mumbled, his lips pressed into Link’s cheek. “I love you, Link. You’re my gorgeous soulmate, my one and only. Thank you so much for marking your skin with my name, you don’t understand how much that means to me.”

For some reason, those words meant the world to Link.

He had found his soulmate, even when the universe didn’t write it on his skin. He didn’t care that his mark was a tattoo, he didn’t care that it wasn’t in the exact same place as Rhett’s, he didn’t care that Rhett lied to protect him. He just didn’t care about anything in that exact moment.

He loved this man with his heart and his soul.

“I love you too, Rhett,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around his soulmate, hiding his face on Rhett’s neck, their naked skins pressed together, sharing heat.

At some point they shifted and Link ended with his head resting on his soulmate’s shoulder, himself sitting between Rhett’s legs and the other man’s arms wrapped around him steady, making him feel safe. Rhett shifted the pillows against his back before taking out Link’s glasses. He was caressing Link’s hair, muttering sweet nothings into his ear.

Link didn’t remember falling asleep.

They said that the soulmate marks are perfect, that they never get it wrong.

Yet it seemed like Rhett was the universe’s only exception.

Rhett was wide awake, looking as his soulmate sleeping between his legs and on his arms, as if he was a small child, curled up against Rhett. He didn’t have the heart to move Link; he seemed so comfortable right there in his arms, close to his heart.

Maybe the universe was an idiot and did strange things. Maybe he was the idiot and the universe had a reason to everything. Maybe the universe was perfect and Rhett couldn’t fight against it.

What was sure was that the universe was such an asshole but he _loved_ it.

Rhett kissed Link’s temple, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

\----

**redamancy,**

(n.) the act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full.

**Author's Note:**

> [@tumblr!](mythical-soul.tumblr.com)


End file.
